Grumbling 8: Ya Gotta Have Goals
Hot, hot, hot. That’s all I can say about the weather. It’s September and the dog days of Summer/Fall are upon us Rightwoodians. No one is sitting outside the bakery...too hot.
Ed, my obnoxious neighbor, stopped by unannounced as he is wont to do to borrow some sugar (He was baking a cake for his wife’s birthday…you would think that he would know that a cake requires sugar!) The minute he set foot in the house he began moaning about the heat and trying to convince us that we need air conditioning.
“Well Ed, It’s about scarcity and opportunity cost. With El Niño coming this winter, we think we better take care of the new roof that we have put off for a few years. Air conditioning or roof? Choice and opportunity cost. Rumor has it there’s no such choice as a free choice. If you would like to pay for the air conditioning, we would be happy to have it installed.
My wife handed Ed his sugar. As usual, he didn’t want to hear about scarcity or opportunity cost. He grabbed the sugar without a “thank you” and grumbled something about the heat being harmful to an old man (46 years) and left.
Changing the subject, I ran into Charley, our new Econ teacher at the car repair shop. (The guy seems to be everywhere.) He looked worried. After a few of the common niceties (How are you? Fine. How’s Matilda…his wife? Fine. You’re starting a new semester. How’s that going?)
Now he didn’t look so fine. He hit me with a hardball.
“A student asked me, respectfully, why she is taking my course. How would you answer that question?”
Since the answer didn’t roll off my tongue, I stalled by stating in a somewhat grumpy and hopefully threatening voice, “Well, it’s about goals, resources, and decisions.”
He replied in a frustrated voice, “I know but that doesn’t answer my question and it certainly won’t answer Maryanne’s. Students don’t ask that question in a dance class or track practice. In those situations, students have goals, either to become a better dancer and maybe win a competition or win a race.
Charley continued, “We have to help them identify goals and THEN explain how economic reasoning SKILLS will help them make informed decisions about reaching those goals. I think the next step is to help them own the fact that human capital is their most important resource. That is why they are taking this course. I told them that I’m going to be their economics coach and I’m going to teach them and help them practice those skills.
This means that the first two lessons should be about goals and human capital. No Econ course should begin without students recognizing why they are in the class. Not because it’s required, but because Economics reasoning skills can help them win the race of life.
“Let me show you some of the questions I want my students to consider in setting goals. I just happen to have a list here.”
Charley pulled the list out of his pocket. Why was he carrying this list around with him and did he really just happen to meet me?
Your life in the future.
Do you want to be married, kids…how many? Pets? What is important to you in your job …high paying, fulfilling, inside or outdoors, late hours, physical, some training and management potential, compatible coworkers, and most important…job satisfaction? What kind of transportation, fancy car, basic car, public transportation? Where do you want to live, big city, suburbs, rural?
“This leads to a discussion of human capital. (Day 2) The major question on this day is the relationship between school and/or training that will strengthen their human capital and help them achieve their goals. See the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook for job descriptions and their requirements.
“After this, I hope my students realize that this course is about them, and they can begin to learn the economic reasoning skills that can help them make informed decisions to reach their goals.
“There is an opportunity cost to the decision to do this, so maybe we skip the lesson on the fact that a unit elasticity curve is a rectangular hyperbola asymptotic to both axes or the difference between a change in demand and a change in quantity demanded. Just a thought!
I am impressed. Charley is already a great Econ teacher, and this is only his second year. I’ve been doing this for 60 years and I’m learning a lot from him. He’s kind of scary!
